Real court, real consequences

STOCKTON - The blood alcohol content of the county's chief librarian registered at three times the legal limit upon his arrest early this year for drunken driving, a prosecutor said Monday.

Scott Smith

STOCKTON - The blood alcohol content of the county's chief librarian registered at three times the legal limit upon his arrest early this year for drunken driving, a prosecutor said Monday.

Christopher Freeman, who heads the Stockton-San Joaquin County Public Library, admitted his guilt before a group of students at August Knodt Elementary School in Weston Ranch.

The Choices and Consequences program takes the courtroom to schools, impressing upon students the perils of drinking and driving. County Superior Court Judge Richard Vlavianos oversaw the sentencing.

Freeman's voice trembled with nerves as the 42-year-old stood to tell 200 students in the gymnasium-turned-courtroom that he was embarrassed for his poor choice.

"Drinking and driving is one of the dumbest things you can do," he said. "I could have killed myself. I could have killed somebody. I could have killed one of you that night."

His library job was not mentioned in his sentencing.

Chief Deputy Scott Fichtner of the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office explained the facts of Freeman's case.

The California Highway Patrol arrested Freeman at 1:40 a.m. Jan. 12. at Pershing and Mendocino avenues in Stockton, near Freeman's home. He was initially pulled over for driving 60 mph in a 35 mph zone.

The officer then noticed the odor of alcohol emanating from Freeman, glossy eyes and slurred speech. An hour after his arrest, Freeman's blood alcohol content registered at .24 percent, a prosecutor said. The legal limit is .08.

Vlavianos sentenced Freeman to five days in jail. He can work off that time through a county program rather than spend it behind bars. His $2,748 fine was reduced by $500 for making himself an example before the children.

Freeman also has to take classes for the next nine months in a first-time offender program and spend three years on informal probation, which means he won't have to report to anyone.

But the judge told Freeman that his behavior - if repeated - could have horrible consequences.

"If you continue to drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol and somebody dies, you can be charged with murder," Vlavianos said.

The state's Department of Motor Vehicles is expected to take away Freeman's driver's license for a month, and after that for a period of time he will be allowed to drive only to and from work.

Attorney Gil Somera, who represented Freeman, said his client's arrest will end up costing about $10,000, given the cost of classes and a spike to his car insurance for the next 10 years.

Despite his troubles, Freeman has kept his job as deputy director of Stockton's Department of Community Services, where he earned $104,367 in gross pay for 2012 overseeing the library branches.

Freeman is getting off relatively easily, despite the embarrassment and cost, said Somera, who has had clients sent to prison for killing strangers, family members and a best friend.

"Every day, that nightmare never goes away," Somera said. "For the rest of your life you have to acknowledge that your dumb mistake killed your best friend."

At the end of Freeman's brief but poignant sentencing, a county Sheriff's deputy put the librarian in handcuffs and led him out under the students' gaze.

Outside of their view in the parking lot, the bailiff unlocked the handcuffs, and Freeman drove away. Just seeing somebody handcuffed leaves a powerful impact on the students, Somera said.

The ordeal has been all too real for Freeman, he said.

"He has greatly suffered personally and professionally for this," Somera said of his client, noting he is an otherwise upstanding citizen with no other criminal past. "It taints his record. It taints him as a person."